Rainbow Falls and the Volcano!

Ok, this is a long post! But I couldnt decide which pictures to put on here, so I ended up putting most of them! haha! Oh well. The picture above is on our hike up to the waterfalls, there was some huge trees, (massive) and there was a spot that we could hide in the trunk.....so we did:)
Rainbow falls, view from the front. So beautiful! Pictues do it no justice!

This was on top of the falls, and boy, was it a long way down! Yikes!

This is on top of the falls looking out into the distance.

This was a little friend that Kade found in some of the rock pools.

Kade and the frog (at the bottom of the picture you can see the frog)

Yes, I'm in the picture, very small, barely there, but I'm there! Find me, where's Ciara! haha! This was up behind the waterfalls.

This was heading to the outlet of the falls, lots of cool rock formations behind the falls.

Another shot of behind the falls

I think this tree is cool with all its cool vines hanging down.

On our way to the falls

Some of the trees are just huge! The people look like little specks compared to the trees.

More jungle trees

This was some water coming down from the plants, just adding to the beauty of the falls :)

The above pic is of the volcano in the distance. Always steaming.

This was on our way to the Lava Tubes. Its so fun to hike through the jungle, something I'm not quite used to!

This is inside the lava tube that we went through. Its crazy to think that hot lava was once running through this tube!

Not the greatest picture for sure, but it shows what it needs to.

Another shot of inside the tube.

Going inside the tube. I felt like Indiana Jones on a new adventure!

Another view of the volcano in the distance. There is a trail that you can see down at the bottom, that people hike down into to get a closer look.

This is a fairly close up pic of the Volcano, and you can see the lava that is dried on the surface, which is from clear back in 1983. The volcano is still active but does not produce a lot of action. You will see steam pockets coming out of the ground just ramdomly everywhere around the volcano, even on the drive there.

Volcano in the distance. Its definately a colder climate at the level of the volcano. Down into the 60's. The Big Island goes from sea level to 13000 feet high! Sometimes, when we get really heavy rain storms, there will be some snow on the tips of the volcano.

This was some steam that comes up out of the ground. If you reach your hand over and put it in the steam, it would sometimes burn you. Pretty crazy.

Our apartment

Here's our little apartment for 2 1/2 more months :) My mom wanted pics to see where we live, and where they will come when they stay:) I should've let it be a surpirse:) Oh well! This is the view out from our deck.

The deck

Out the bedroom window

Our bedroom

Kitchen

Living room. I absolutely LOVE the picture that is hanging ont eh wall! I think it is so beautiful! The decor is very Hawaiian!

More of Hawaii

I just thought I would post some scenic pics that I've taken since my internet is now working, well sort of, enough to let me post this:) The above pic is one taken on the Big Island, the volcanic rock beaches. They are so beautiful!

I had to throw this one in there, lol, these little guys run around ALL OVER the place, including in our apartment! But they keep the bugs away!

Love Love Love the flowers!

This is one of my favorites yet! I love the sunsets here, simply amazing!

Hawaii!!!!!!!

Well, we have finally arrived to our new temporary home, HAWAII!!!!!! I've never been here so this is a real treat for me! It is so beautiful! We arrived in Oahu on the 19th and were there until the 22nd and then we headed over to the Big Island were we will be staying. We were able to see the beach, the temple, Pearl Harbor, and some other things while in Oahu, so scroll down and I'll explain the pics:)
This was at Pearl Harbor, there was a cute little girl who came prepared to honor the fallen soldiers with some beautiful fresh flowers. I had to take a picture because it was such a beautiful sight!

The memorial wall with all the names of the fallen soldiers.

The oil that still rises to the surface from the sunken ship. Amazing.

Part of the ship that is still under water.

This was a submarine that was made a year after Pearl Harbor, she was know for her mass destruction.

This pic was at the Polynesian Culteral Center. I ended up with this beautiful flower headband, because we happen to be walking by this shop around closing time, they were getting rid of their things from that day, so she just gave me the headband! The lady told me that when the floweres die, the grass headband will stay good for a really long time, like years, and that I would just gather new flowers and put them in the headband again:)

This is a pic of my view out our apartment.........well our temporary apartment, we are now in a different one, which I will post more pics of. This is the spot were I saw a guy climb some of these coconut trees and get the coconuts to sell at the farmers market in town. (Big Island)

This pic was on the north shore of Oahu, before we got to the Big Island. I love the sandy beaches! So beautiful!

Kade is just having a ball! He was trying to swim with the waves, so they would carry him!

What a silly boy! So cute out there having so much fun!

Just a scenic shot that I liked:)

Oh boy, I debated on putting a picture of me in my swimsuit on here, but then I thought, "ah, what the heck! Its Hawaii!"

I told Kade to jump off the rock to so I could snap a funny pic of him:) and I think it turned out pretty funny:)

Another Scenic one.

I thought this view was so pretty out the window of the visitors center.

I LOVE the flowers here! There are so many and they are all different!

Out front at the temple.

This tree was so huge and so amazing, and had so many vines! Very cool!

A view of the Ocean and the flowers.

My mom and dad stood here back in 1968 when my dad was on his R n R from Vietnam. He got to go to Hawaii, for one week and meet my mom there after 6 months of being in Vietnam. Then he had to go back to Vietnam for another 6 months. They are coming out to visit Kade and I and we are going to go to the temple again, only this time, they are excited because they won't have to part again, they will get to relax and enjoy! It will be so awesome!

Another angle of the temple. The temple was so amazing, seriously my favorite part of our whole trip! Such a beautiful place! If you go to the Hawaii temple, make sure you walk around the back of the temple and see the landscaping, the trees and flowers!